Local Development through Cultural Routes: The Case of San José de Chiquitos (Bolivia)

Abstract

Heritage routes have become an important claim since the origins of tourism, being highly considered more recently as a privileged tool for planning integral local development. On this occasion, Heritage routes will be studied in depth, from a socioeconomic perspective and the factors that make them up as agents of development; as well as, in the conceptual framework of sustainable territorial development, delimiting key concepts of the new public, circular and regenerative paradigms and others . Finally, the scope of this integral development model will be contrasted in the case of the famous Jesuit Missions Route of Chiquitania, highly appreciated in Latin America. Verifying the data of denizen and tourists consider that the infrastructures are of medium quality and the data of tourists and townsmen consider the route has achieved the improvement of the cultural and natural heritage, although it has not contributed to complementing or promoting traditional activities (mining and agriculture).

Therefore, it can be considered, following the premises of the integral development model indicated that, heritage routes can activate the revaluation and care of cultural and natural heritage, the improvement of the socioeconomic conditions of rural populations. Its development as a quality tourism product will depend on investment in infrastructures and communications.